How a Canaanite goddess conquered ancient Egypt

Brought over by mysterious conquerors and fused with a local deity, the nameless goddess was a kinder, gentler - and yellow - goddess.

By Julia Fridman

Upon entering the tomb of King Thutmosis III, its excavator was greeted by a scene he hadn't expected. In addition to the typical stiff, repetitive funerary imagery of the time, the innermost sanctum of the burial chamber had a simple image of the Pharaoh suckling on a breast protruding from a tree.

The association of a tree of life with a major goddess had been all but unknown in Thutmosis’ 18th Dynasty Egypt (1479 BCE to 1425 BCE). But they were very well known in Canaan and the broader Levant.

Nude goddesses and tree symbolism began appearing as early as the Neolithic period, some 12,000 years ago in the north of Israel. Artifacts including scarab seals, jewelry, and clay figurines were found at important sites such as Lachish, Megiddo, Beit Shean, Gezer, and Nahariya, to name just a few.

By the time of the Middle Bronze Age, 4,000 years ago, they were commonplace in funerary, household and temple contexts – in the Levant. Not in Egypt.

Egyptian government deploys armed guards at remote temple sites

Guards to boost security at Wadi Al-Sebua temple near Aswan

by Nevine El-Aref , Friday 8 Nov 2013

The Ministry of State for Antiquities has started to provide security in remote archaeological areas which were left without guards after the 2011 revolution.

Ten ministry security guards at the Wadi Al-Sebua temple area on Lake Nasser, south of Aswan, were armed with guns on Friday, in order to tighten security measures at the remote site.

Photocredit: Ahram Online

Antiquities minister Mohamed Ibrahim said the step was important for preventing further looting attempts.

He denied reports that the Wadi Al-Sebua area had been recently subjected to looting, saying that only electricity cables and lamps used to illuminate the site at night had been stolen.

Wadi Al-Sebua, or the Valley of the Lions, is the name given to a Nubian temple built by King Ramses II at the end of his reign (1279 -1213BC).

It was one of the temples that was dismantled and removed from its site in the 1960s to make way for the reservoir that would accompany the Aswan High Dam. The temple took its name from an avenue of sphinxes that decorates its entrance.

The temple originally consisted of a set of three pylons, but only two survive. The first, which led to the avenue of sphinxes, is no longer there, but the second, which leads into a forecourt decorated by statues of Ramses II and the third, which leads to a second courtyard supported by columns decorated by images of Ramses as Osiris, are still extant.

The hypostyle hall and inner sanctuary that follow these courtyards were carved into the bedrock.

Close by Wadi Al-Sebua is Dakka Temple, which was built much later during the Ptolemaic era.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/85915/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Egyptian-government-deploys-armed-guards-at-remote.aspx

Wednesday Weekly # 8

Welcome to the Wednesday Weekly, your weekly dose of links to Egyptology news, articles, blogs, events and more.


AHRAM ONLINE

by Nevine El-Aref

Alexandria's Graeco-Roman Museum to reopen within 18 months
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/44/85144/Heritage/Museums/Alexandrias-GraecoRoman-Museum-to-reopen-within--m.aspx

Giza plateau mastaba block fell, restoration to start Sunday
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/85406/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Giza-plateau-mastaba-block-fell,-restoration-to-st.aspx

Stolen Ancient Egyptian shrine recovered
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/85488/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Stolen-Ancient-Egyptian-shrine-recovered.aspx

AL-AHRAM WEEKLY

by Nevine El-Aref

The necropolis opens
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/4486/47/The-necropolis-opens.aspx

IN THE ARTIFACT LAB

New blog entry:

First step for the heads
http://www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab/2013/10/30/first-step-for-the-heads/

HAIR AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT

by María Rosa Valdesogo Martín

S3mt: Hair and Mourning, Evil and Udjat Eye
http://hairanddeathinancientegypt.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/s3mt-hair-and-mourning-evil-and-udjta-eye/

Mourning Women and Mourning Hair in Ancient Egypt Funeral
http://hairanddeathinancientegypt.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/mourning-women-and-mourning-hair/

AWOL - THE ANCIENT WORLD ONLINE

New addition to the blog:

Excavations in Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.nl/2013/10/excavations-in-dakhleh-oasis-egypt.html

UCL MUSEUMS & COLLECTIONS BLOG

New blog entry:

From the Field to the Museum and Back Again
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/2013/11/01/from-the-field-to-the-museum-and-back-again/

EGYPTIAN'S

New blogposts by Timothy Reid:

Naukratis
http://tim-theegyptians.blogspot.nl/2013/10/naukratis.html

Erosion on the Giza Plateau
http://tim-theegyptians.blogspot.nl/2013/11/erosion-on-giza-plateau.html

LUXOR TIMES

New addition to the blog:

3-tons block has fallen but will be in place tomorrow
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.nl/2013/11/3-tons-block-has-fallen-but-will-be-in.html

LIVESCIENCE

New article by Owen Jarus:

Mummy's Colorful Collar Found in Egyptian Tomb
http://www.livescience.com/40955-mummy-collar-found-in-egyptian-tomb.html

CALGARY SSEA

Lecture: The Amarna Period

Description:

Continuing the History of Ancient Egypt brings us to the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty, to Amenhotep III, his heretic Aten-worshipping son Akhenaten, and the Amarna Period.  The Amarna Era was a time of dramatic changes in religion, culture and Egyptian art, and was followed by an equally wrenching reversion to the traditional Amon worship.

Date: 7:30 – 9:00 pm, 06-Dec-2013

More info:
http://www.calgaryssea.ca/2013/11/04/lecture-the-amarna-period/

JOYCE FILER

New additions to her site:

Science Week at the British Museum
http://joycefiler.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/science-week-at-the-british-museum/
http://joycefiler.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/science-week-at-the-british-museum-2/

THE SCOTSMAN

by Frank Urquhart

Egyptian mummy at Perth museum 'named'
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/egyptian-mummy-at-perth-museum-named-1-3174867

Mummy's Colorful Collar Found in Egyptian Tomb

By Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor   |   November 05, 2013

A collar with "almost pristine" colors that would have been worn by a mummy has been discovered in small pieces in an Egyptian tomb in Thebes and put back together again.

Photocredit: Susan Redford

People in ancient Egypt wore collars called "wesekhs" made of beads when they were alive. This painted collar is made of a different type of material called cartonnage (a plastered material) and was meant to be worn by a mummy after death. A clay seal found near the collar suggests that it was worn by the mummy of a wealthy undertaker.

Dating back around 2,300 years ago and found in modern-day Luxor, the collar is painted in a vivid array of colors, designs and images that show elements of ancient Egyptian religion. The god Horus is signified by two falcons wearing red sun-disk crowns on the top corners, while at top center is a human-headed bird (called a "Ba" bird) that represents, in essence, the immortal soul of the deceased mummy.

Additionally, in the center of the design, there is a drawing of a golden shrine with two goddesses, possibly the sisters Isis and Nephthys, facing a deity in the center that may be the jackal-headed Anubis. The collar is about 8.7 inches (22 centimeters) high (not including the falcons) and about 16.5 inches (42 cm) in width. Near the bottom of the collar lotus blossoms are shown flourishing.

Stolen Ancient Egyptian shrine recovered

Limestone Ancient Egyptian shrine (or naos) found in residential home in Mit Rahina town

by Nevine El-Aref , Sunday 3 Nov 2013

Tourism and Antiquities Police have recovered a stolen limestone naos (shrine) hidden inside a residential home in Mit-Rahina town in Al-Badrasheen city, south of Cairo.

Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said the ministry's archaeological committee had confirmed the naos is authentic and dates from the Old Kingdom.

It includes four statues of persons fixed on four bases engraved with hieroglyphic verses from The Pyramid Texts. The first statue is 16 cm tall and depicts a standing figure wearing a black wig. The second is 19.2 cm tall and features a person wearing a coloured wig, while the third statue is 9.2 cm in height and may be of a child wearing a coloured wig. On his chest is engraved line of hieroglyphics. The fourth statue is 16.4 cm tall and depicts a person with a black wig.

Aly El-Asfar, deputy head of the Ancient Egyptian department at the ministry, said the statues could be of the same person different during stages of life. The naos is now under investigation to discover its original location and whether it was dug illegally.

The possessor of the naos is now being held in custody and is being investigated, he said.

Museum Pieces - Figure of Monkey Seated on Ovoid Base

Photocredit: Brooklyn Museum

Figure of Monkey Seated on Ovoid Base

Throughout Egyptian history, monkeys were enjoyed for their playful, whimsical behavior. This blue faience example holds a ball or piece of fruit; in antiquity, it wore a metal earring, indicating that it represented a household pet. Because they had to be imported over great distances at considerable expense, the possession of monkeys indicated the owner's wealth and social status.

Medium: Faience, glazed
Reportedly From: El Amarna, Egypt
Dates: ca. 1352-1336 B.C.E.
Dynasty: late XVIII Dynasty
Period: New Kingdom
Dimensions: 2 1/8 x 1 1/8 x 1 9/16 in. (5.4 x 2.8 x 4 cm)  (show scale)
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 48.181
Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Rights Statement: Creative Commons-BY
Caption: Figure of Monkey Seated on Ovoid Base, ca. 1352-1336 B.C.E. Faience, glazed, 2 1/8 x 1 1/8 x 1 9/16 in. (5.4 x 2.8 x 4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 48.181. Creative Commons-BY
Catalogue Description: Blue glazed figure of monkey seated on ovoid base. Body in the round, head at right angles to shoulders, ears pierced, hands extended grasping unidentified object supported by one foot and resting on base. Condition: Intact. Glaze slightly worn on front of body.

Source: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3524/Figure_of_Monkey_Seated_on_Ovoid_Base

Naukratis: Ancient Greeks in Egypt

How did ancient Egypt shape the development of Greek culture? What was the impact of the encounter with Greece on Egypt? How did these completely different cultures interact? These questions have been asked for more than a century. Excavations at the ancient city of Naukratis have been a key source of evidence for providing new answers.

Naukratis was situated on the Canopic branch of the Nile between the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Memphis. Greeks began to trade and settle here in the latter part of the seventh century BC, and it became the earliest Greek settlement in Egypt. Here, Greeks lived in close contact with Egyptians for centuries, long before the establishment of Alexandria. Naukratis became a gateway for trade and exchange between Egypt and the peoples of the Mediterranean.

History of Naukratis

According to the Classical Greek historian Herodotus, in the mid-sixth century BC the Egyptian Pharaoh Amasis gave the town of Naukratis to Greeks from 12 different cities to live in, including land where non-resident traders could erect sanctuaries. However, archaeology attests the site’s existence already under Pharaoh Psammetichus (Psamtek) I, from at least 620 BC. Furthermore, Naukratis was not just a Greek but also an Egyptian town.

Naukratis was frequented by traders from many Greek cities as well, no doubt, as by Phoenicians and Cypriots; it became famous for its elaborate symposia (dining parties) and beautiful hetairai (courtesans). Naukratis functioned as the main trading port in the Western Nile Delta until the foundation of Alexandria, and continued to be significant also throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Officers (prostatai) appointed by the nine founding cities of the Hellenion administered the emporion (Greek trading post) at least from the time of Amasis. Imports into Egypt included wine, oil, and silver, and exports from Egypt included grain, flax, natron, papyrus, perfume and other semi-luxuries.